Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Stock Rating Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on EC. Citigroup downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ecopetrol from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded Ecopetrol from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $13.54.

Ecopetrol Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of EC stock opened at $16.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $34.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.78, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.44. Ecopetrol has a 1-year low of $8.57 and a 1-year high of $18.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.44.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 11.46% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The company had revenue of $11.72 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ecopetrol will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Ecopetrol in the 1st quarter valued at about $6,542,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the first quarter worth about $3,583,000. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the first quarter worth about $2,417,000. Wealth High Governance Asset Management Ltda. acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the first quarter worth about $2,057,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the first quarter worth about $1,948,000.

Ecopetrol News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ecopetrol this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The CEO decision removes an overhang that had been weighing on market confidence. Gutiérrez Caballero’s appointment was unanimously approved by Ecopetrol’s board, providing near-term leadership certainty. Ecopetrol CEO appointment
• Positive Sentiment: Separate coverage highlighted approximately 35% second-quarter revenue growth, reinforcing the company’s operating momentum despite weaker profitability. Ecopetrol’s most recent reported quarter included $11.72 billion in revenue and $0.86 in earnings per share. Ecopetrol second-quarter revenue growth
• Neutral Sentiment: The new CEO’s background as a political ally may lead investors to watch closely for changes in capital allocation, energy policy, production strategy and government influence over Colombia’s state-controlled oil company. Ecopetrol chooses presidential ally as CEO
• Negative Sentiment: Recent reports said profits weakened, while an investor law firm continues investigating Ecopetrol. These developments could pressure valuation if they lead to concerns about earnings quality, governance or potential shareholder claims. Ecopetrol investor investigation

Ecopetrol Company Profile

Ecopetrol SA is an integrated energy company based in Colombia and one of the country’s principal producers of oil and natural gas. Its activities include exploration and production of hydrocarbons, crude oil and fuel transportation, refining, petrochemicals, and the distribution and marketing of petroleum products and natural gas.

The company operates through a broad energy infrastructure network that includes pipelines, storage facilities, refineries, ports, and other midstream assets.